pennyspoetryfandomcom-20200214-history
Henry Newbolt
| birth_place = Bilston, Staffordshire, England | death_date = April | death_place = Kensington, London, England | occupation = Poet | notableworks = Vitaï Lampada | nationality = British}} Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 - 19 April 1938) was an English poet. He is most remembered for Vitaï Lampada, a lyrical piece used for propaganda purposes during World War I. Life Newbolt was born in Bilston, Wolverhampton (then located in Staffordshire, but now in the West Midlands), son of the vicar of St. Mary's Church, the Rev. Henry Francis Newbolt, and his second wife, Emily. After his father's death, the family moved to Walsall, where Henry was educated. Education Newbolt attended Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall, and Caistor Grammar School, from where he gained a scholarship to Clifton College, where he was head of the school (1881) and edited the school magazine. His contemporaries there included Douglas Haig. Graduating from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Newbolt was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1887 and practised until 1899. Between 1900 and 1905, Newbolt was the editor of the Monthly Review. He was also a member of the Athenaeum Club and the Coefficients dining club. Family He married Margaret Edina Duckworth of the prominent publishing family; they had two children; a boy, Francis and a daughter, Celia. In 1914 Celia Newbolt married Lt. Col. Sir Ralph Dolignon Furse (1887–1973), the Head of Recruitment at HM Colonial Service from 1931–48; they had four children. Lady Furse died in 1975. Subsequently it became apparent that behind the prim Edwardian exterior lay a far more complicated domestic life for Newbolt: a ménage à trois. His wife had a long running lesbian affair with her cousin, Ella Coltman, who also became Newbolt's mistress.Robert Fulford, Robert Fulford's column about Henry Newbolt (The Globe and Mail, Jan. 7, 1998), RobertFulford.com, Web, Apr. 9, 2012. One of his poems, in which he refers to someone as "dearest", is entitled "To E.C." Coltman accompanied the Newbolts on their honeymoon. Death Newbolt died at his home in Campden Hill, Kensington, London, aged 75. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's church on an island in the lake on the Orchardleigh estate of the Duckworth family in Somerset. Writing His first book was a novel, Taken from the Enemy (1892), and in 1895 he published a tragedy, Mordred; but it was the publication of his ballads, Admirals All (1897), that created his literary reputation. By far the best-known of these is "Vitai Lampada". They were followed by other volumes of stirring verse, including The Island Race (1898), The Sailing of the Long-ships (1902), Songs of the Sea (1904) and Songs of the Fleet (1910). In 1914, Newbolt published Aladore, a fantasy novel about a bored but dutiful knight who abruptly abandons his estate and wealth to discover his heart's desire and woo a half-fae enchantress. It is a tale filled with allegories about the nature of youth, service, individuality and tradition. It was reissued in a new edition by Newcastle Publishing Company in 1975. Drake's Drum According to legend a drum owned by Sir Francis Drake will beat in times of national crisis and the spirit of Drake will return to aid his country. Sir Henry reinforced the myth, with his 1897 poem 'Drake's Drum', which has been put to both classical and folk tunes. Recognition Newbolt was knighted in 1915 and was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1922. His poem "He fell among Thieves" was included in the Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900."He fell among Thieves". Arthur Quiller-Couch, editor, Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900 (Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1919). Bartleby.com, Web, May 6, 2012. In his home town of Bilston, a public house was named after him, and a blue plaque is displayed on a modern building in the street where he was born. Another blue plaque commemorates his residency at his home in Kensington. 'Drake's Drum' is the first of five poetic settings by the composer Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford has two song cycles, both using the poetry of Newbolt, the Songs of the Sea and also Songs of the Fleet. Recordings were made of Newbolt reading some of his own poems. They were on four 78rpm sides in the Columbia Records 'International Educational Society' Lecture series, Lecture 92 (D40181/2).Catalogue of Columbia Records, Up to and including Supplement no. 252 (Columbia Graphophone Company, London September 1933), p. 375. Publications Poetry *''Mordred: A tragedy. London: T.F. Unwin, 1895. *Admirals All, and other verses. London: Elkin Mathews, 1897; New York: John Lane, 1898. *The Island Race. London: Elkin Mathews, 1898; New York: John Lane, 1899. *The Sailing of the Long-Ships, and other poems. London: John Murray, 1902; Toronto: Morang, 1902; New York: D. Appleton, 1902. *Clifton Chapel, and other school poems. London: John Murray, 1908. *Songs of Memory and Hope. London: John Murray, 1909. *Collected Poems, 1897-1907. London & New York: Nelson, 1910. *Poems: New and old. London: John Murray, 1912. *''Drake's Drum, and other songs of the sea. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914. *''St. George's Day, and other poems. London: John Murray, 1918. *''New Paths on Helicon. London & New York: Nelson, 1927. *''The Linnet's Nest'' (illustrated by Ralph Keene). London: Faber & Gwyer, 1927. *''A Child is Born''. London: Faber, 1931. *''A Perpetual Memory, and other poems'' (with memoirs by Walter de la Mare & Ralph Furse). London: John Murray, 1939. *''Selected Poems'' (edited by Patric Dickinson). London: Hodder & Stroughton, 1981. Novels *''Taken from the Enemy. London: Chatto & Windus, 1892. *The Old Country: A romance. London: Smith, Elder, 1906. *The New June. Edinburgh & London: W. Blackwood, 1909. *The Twymans: A tale of youth. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood, 1911. *Aladore. Edinburgh & London: W. Blackwood, 1914. *The Book of the Grenvilles. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1921. Short fiction *The Book of the Blue Sea. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1914. Non-fiction *The Year of Trafalgar: Being an account of the battle and of the events which led up to it, with a collection of the poems and ballads written thereupon between 1805 and 1905. London: John Murray, 1905. *''The Story of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. London: Country Life, 1915; New York: Scribner, 1915. *''A New Study of English Poetry. London: Constable, 1917; New York: Dutton, 1919. *A Note on the History of Submarine War. New York: Doran, 1917; London: Longmans Green, 1918. *Poetry and Time. London: British Academy / Humphrey Milford / Oxford University Press, 1919. *A Naval History of the War, 1914-1918. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1920. *History of the Great War: Naval Operations, Volume IV. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1920. * ''Days to Remember: The British Empire in the Great War (with John Buchan). London: Nelson, 1923; London & New York: Nelson, 1928. *''The Tide of Time in English Poetry''. London & Edinburgh: Nelson, 1925. *''Essays and Essayists''. London: Nelson, 1925. *''Studies Green and Gray''. London: Nelson, 1926; Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1968. *''The Idea of an English Association''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1928. *''Devotional Poets of the XVII Century''. London & Edinburgh: Nelson, 1929. *''My World As in My Time: Memoirs, 1862-1932''. London: Faber, 1932. Juvenile *''The Book of the Thin Red Line''. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1915. *''Tales of the Great War. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1916. *The Book of the Happy Warrier. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1917. *Submarine and Anti-Submarine. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1918. *The Book of the Long Trail. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1919. *Book of Good Hunting''. London & New York: Longmans Green, 1920. Collected editions *''[https://archive.org/details/prosepoetryfromw00newb Prose and Poetry, from the works of Henry Newbolt. London: Dent / New York: Dutton, 1920. Edited *An English Anthology of Prose and Poetry: Showing the main stream of English literature through six centuries. London & Toronto: Dent / New York: Dutton, 1921. Letters *''The Later Life and Letters of Sir Henry Newbolt (edited by Margaret Edina Duckworth Newbolt). London: Faber, 1942. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Henry Newbolt, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 27, 2014. Poems by Henry Newbolt #Vitai Lampada See also * List of British poets References * *Black Country Bugle *''A Perpetual Memory and other Poems'', an anthology by Sr Henry Newbolt, published in 1939 by John Murray. * * Notes External links ;Poems * "He fell among Thieves". * "The Final Mystery" *"Mors Janua" *'Vitai Lampada" * Selected Poetry of Henry John Newbolt (1862-1938) (5 poems) at Representative Poetry Online * Sir Henry Newbolt at PoemHunter (81 poems). ;Books * *Henry John Newbolt at the Online Books Page ;Audio / video * "Henry Newbolt at YouTube ;About * Original article is at Sir Henry John Newbolt *Sir Henry Newbolt in the Encyclopædia Britannica * Henry Newbolt at Spartacus Educational. * Sir Henry Newbolt, CH (1862-1938) at the War Poets Association. * Robert Fulford's column about Henry Newbolt Category:1862 births Category:1938 deaths Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Category:British historians Category:English poets Category:English naval historians Category:Old Cliftonians Category:People from Bilston Category:People from Kensington Category:Victorian poets Category:Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets